Meet the Stokes
by TresMaxwell
Summary: The Stokes are having a family reunion and Nick drags Greg along for the ride. NickxGreg SLASH, if you don't like it, don't read it.
1. Dallas

Greg yawned as he followed Nick to baggage claim, dragging his feet and his duffle bag. Working night shift had its perks, but when one wanted to interact with the rest of the human world then one tended to lose sleep. What Greg didn't understand was why Nick had booked them a flight for seven in the morning. He was normally crawling into bed at seven, not out of it.

It wasn't all bad, he did get sleep on the plane after all, but it just seemed slightly evil. Nick knew, firsthand, that Greg wasn't a morning person and he would have chewed the Texan out if he wasn't so busy yawning.

At the moment, what he really wanted was a cup of his Blue Hawaiian to keep him on his feet. If fact, he'd kill for a cup. An airport was a good place to hide a body, right? Thousands of people from all over the world pass through an airport like DFW in a day, and that would leave a list of suspects a mile long. Something like that would really make Brass's day.

He let go of the idea of killing for coffee in favor of a glance at his watch. It stated, in big digital numbers, that it was ten o' one in the morning, but Nick said that they'd gained two hours in transit, so that put them at about noon Texas time. He reset his watch.

When they arrived at the baggage claim area, the luggage from flight 602 out of Las Vegas was already circulating on wide conveyer belts.

Nick's parents were coming to pick them up. No matter how much reassurance he received, Greg still wasn't certain that this vacation was such a good idea. In two days, he was going to be in a house full of Stokes for a family reunion he didn't belong at. Sweet though it may be that Nick wanted him to be a part of that, he couldn't imagine every member of his family understanding Greg's presence there. Hell, not even Greg's parents were all that comfortable with his lifestyle choices and they'd seen it coming, so why should Nick's conservative parents be okay with them?

"I know it's early, but is anyone home in there?"

Nick snapped his fingers in front of Greg's vacant gaze and was rewarded with a startled look. He had to smile. The youngest member of the CSI team had slept the entire trip, including the taxi ride to the airport. It had taken all of Nick's effort to get him dressed and out the door on time, so he was glad that he'd had the foresight to make Greg pack the night before.

Nick chuckled and pressed his lips to Greg's forehead, murmuring more to himself than his partner, "You've got to get some sleep tonight. I shouldn't have let you stay up so late."

"You were up late too."

So he was alert enough to respond, that was a plus. After a quick scan of the crowds for a familiar face, Nick maneuvered them over to an unoccupied wall and set down their suitcases. Greg leaned, gratefully, against the solid surface

"Yeah, but I obviously run better on a low battery than you do," Nick said and fell against the wall beside him. "They're late, probably got caught in traffic. The roads can get pretty bad around here."

"It's probably nothing like the traffic on the Strip."

"Well, no, but the traffic on the Strip is pretty constant. Highways like 75 can become a parking lot in a moment's notice."

Greg hummed his acknowledgement and let his eyes fall closed, but he didn't get the chance to get truly groggy.

A single, accented voice cut through his drowsiness, "Poncho!"

Nick pushed off the wall, his biggest grin cutting across his face, and met his parents with open arms. Mr. Stokes all but picked up the level three CSI in a bear hug. Laughing, Nick greeted his family warmly, "Cisco! Mom, it's good to see you!" When the judge released him, Nick gave his mother a much gentler hug.

Greg shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he waited for the pleasantries to pass, smiling when Nick met his eyes.

"This is Greg. Greg, these are my parents, Bill and Jillian Stokes."

They shook hands all around and said proper 'Howdy's and 'Hello's before moving the luggage into the elder Stokes' SUV and heading out.

----

"Well, I assumed that you'll be staying in your room, Nick, but I wasn't sure where we would put Greg. The foldout couch is still up for grabs or I'm sure we could find you a sleeping bag…"

Nick chewed his lower lip and traded a glance with his lover, who raised his eyebrows in an obvious question, 'You invited me here, and they don't know?' He winced slightly and interrupted his mother, "We'll both stay in my room, Mom."

His comment didn't faze her. "Oh no, that won't do. I'm sure Greg wants some privacy and I'll be more than happy to find him a place," she said smoothly as she continued to dig sheet sets out from the linen closet. Nick's hint had slid right past her.

"Mom, we'll both stay in my room. Besides, half of his stuff is in my suitcase," he mentioned, laying out a much more obvious clue. His mother knew about his preferences when it came to love and he'd been relying on her to make the connection. He hadn't confided with Judge Stokes on that matter, however.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Greg giving him a look that spoke of a future argument, but he chose to ignore it.

A flicker of recognition crossed Jillian's face and she fell silent. Just when the air was getting heavy with unspoken words, she smiled again. "Alright," she confirmed, and then turned to Greg, "I'll get you a sleeping bag anyway, I know how Nick tends to steal the covers."

"No denying that. It's a pretty constant battle," Sanders quipped playfully and followed Mrs. Stokes down the hall. Nick quirked an eyebrow at Greg's comment, but let it slip when his mother made no physical or verbal response to it. He'd really wanted to ease his parents into the concept of their relationship, not drop them into the lake before the waters had been tested.

"So, who all's here?"

"Well, George and Mary arrived yesterday, and Carol showed up about an hour before you two," Jillian informed as she opened the last door on the left side of the hallway.

Nick entered his childhood room first, Greg hot on his heels, and dumped their luggage on the bed. Having not found time to brief his lover on the many relatives he would encounter, he tossed a word in Greg's direction to fill in the blanks, "Siblings."

"Unfortunately, Angelica was assigned a major project and couldn't come."

"George's wife, sister-in-law." The DNA specialist absorbed the information with a quick nod.

"Mathew is dying to see you and just can't wait for you to play with him. All he can talk about is some new video game he brought with him. Apparently that dead-beat dad of his won't play it with him. He knows you will."

"Of course I will. That kid's getting real good; he gives me a run for my money." Nick laughed and sent the appropriate explanation to Greg, "Mathew is my nephew, Carol's son. His dad's a dirt bag that nobody liked, but it took Carol a little longer to notice than the rest of the family. They got divorced about two years ago."

Greg nodded and unzipped his duffle bag. He wondered if the family had acted on their dislike of Carol's ex. It was an intimidating thought, because Nick had a lot of immediate family and it was quite possible that they wouldn't like him. What if he didn't fit in? What if they decided that he didn't belong? A twitchy nervousness took up residence in his guts in anticipation of meeting the rest of the family.

Jillian gave them both a warm smile and extracted herself from the doorway. "I'll let you two get settled, but you'd better come downstairs soon. I don't think that I'll be able to keep Matt at bay," she joked as she left.

In her absence, Nick could feel Greg gathering his thoughts to share a piece of his mind. He mentally braced himself and started to unpack. "I thought they knew."

"I really don't want to fight about this," Nick sighed as he shook out his nicer shirts and hung them up. "Besides, they both know that I prefer the company of men. My mother is alright with it."

"And your father isn't?" Greg squeaked. The situation was intimidating enough; he really didn't need Judge Stokes to be un-approving of their coupling. The man was rather frightening when he was angry and Greg had only seen him that way once, but he'd also only met him once. Then, he'd just been grateful that Bill's anger hadn't been directed towards him.

"No, my dad and I fought about it and then I went back to Vegas before we really smoothed things over. That was a couple Christmases ago, before we got together."

Greg flopped onto the bed, his chocolate-brown eyes widening slightly. The expression made him incredibly adorable. It wasn't often that the level one CSI looked so bewildered and, though Nick felt bad about it, he couldn't help but laugh.

The heartfelt chuckle broke the tension, leaving the room at ease. Nick cupped his lover's face in his hands and reassured him, "Don't worry, my family's going to love you."

"They'd better… I get the feeling that they'll eat me if they don't."

Nick snorted. "Hardly. Most of them are pretty harmless, unless my sisters catch you in a mob… That can be a frightening experience." Greg gave him another hopelessly adorable wide-eyed look, causing Nick to fall into another round of laughter. He planted a firm kiss on the young CSI's mouth, reassuring him, "Even if they don't, I still will."

"That's comforting," Greg murmured with a smile, his sarcasm barely noticeable around his playful kisses.

----------

The next few hours went by in a blur. Greg was hustled downstairs and introduced to so many people that it would be impossible to remember all their names. He could recall George easily enough, mainly because the man was Nick's only brother, but also because had asked him if he'd ever shot anything before. The question had caught him completely off-guard.

"What?"

"Have you ever shot anything before? I'm a quail man myself, but I go for deer and turkey as well," the man Nick had introduced as George said cheerfully.

Definitely not what he'd been expecting. Greg didn't want to be one to judge, but Nick's brother was beginning to look like one of those extreme conservatives that believed that god made the gun to fend off the homosexuals. Not that all conservatives were frightening like that, he'd known a lot of good ones, but he could already feel that George was going to be a problem.

"I actually don't get much of a chance to hunt. Nicky and I work nights, so a day off just doesn't put us at prime hunting hours," he avoided as smoothly as he could, shooting a bewildered look at Nick.

The Texan turned Vegas-ite didn't notice. He'd turned his attentions to a skinny, almost puppy-like boy that had latched onto his waist. The dark-haired boy was babbling excitedly, and tugging on Nick's hand. To Greg's complete dismay, Nick allowed the child to drag him out of the room and out of site, leaving the young CSI with a plethora of unknown people.

Greg looked back at Nick's brother, hoping that his bewilderment wasn't visible on his features. If you showed fear to the pack, didn't they eat you? He swallowed compulsively.

"So, you work with my brother at the crime lab. What do you do there?" George asked, clamping a strong hand onto his shoulder. It was a friendly gesture, but Greg had to hold a cringe at bay. It felt like the man could rip off his arm easily. He pushed that into the back of his mind, reminding himself firmly that Nick's family was not violent.

"Um, I used to process DNA, but I moved onto the field recently. We work together on cases."

A curious pair of eyes locked onto Greg. They'd been resting on him off and on since he'd walked into the room with the youngest member of the Stokes family, but had really taken more of an interest when he'd affectionately referred to Nick as 'Nicky'. Unknown to Greg, his watcher was making judgments upon him. The bright green eyes narrowed slightly as she contemplated her suspicions.

"So, does Nick behave himself out there? Doesn't get into too much trouble with girls and all that?" George joked with a brief roar of laughter.

Greg blanched slightly. Where in God's name was Nick and how could he possibly leave him like this! Greg contemplated running away with the excuse that he'd left the oven on in Vegas, but an arm slipped into the crook of his, distracting him from that idea.

"My god George, no need to scare the kid away," an unfamiliar voice cut in. Greg turned to find that it belonged to a shorter woman with maroon (obviously dyed) hair and bright green eyes. She smiled at him and held up an amber colored bottle, asking, "You want a beer, sweetie?"

He took it gratefully; happy that someone was willing to protect him from the crazy republican since his boyfriend was NOWHERE IN SIGHT! Anything could be better than the man who wanted to shoot things, so he followed the new acquaintance into the kitchen. "So, are you Mary or Carol?"

She picked up a mixed drink off the counter and offered her hand, replying, "I'm Carol. Mary is the stuffy one outside with Dad."

Greg shook the manicured hand, noticing the bright orange polish on her long nails. Carol seemed the wilder of the Stokes sisters and the DNA tech was got the feeling that he might get along with her well. She seemed just random enough to understand him.

"Sorry my brother abandoned you with George. He can be a little overwhelming before you get to know him." Carol took a sip of her pink cocktail and added, "Matt just couldn't wait to see him, so I wasn't really surprised when he dragged him off. They're probably playing that X-Cube, or whatever it is, that Nick got him for his birthday." She hopped up on the counter, giving Greg the signal that it was okay to do the same.

Even though Nick griped at him when he did it at home, it was still a habit. Then again, on occasion, Nick pick him up and put him on the counter to get better access to… Well, it was really just better to see someone else do it before he hopped up on a stranger's kitchen surfaces.

"So, how did you meet my little brother?"

Greg took a sip of his beer, which was pretty good but he couldn't identify the brand, and set it down next to him. "Well, we met through work. I started working at the lab straight out of college and then he showed up about six months after I did. We goofed off in the lab a lot, being that we were some of the youngest people there, and then started hanging out outside of work. Nothing spectacular," he admitted with a shrug.

He left out the latter half of their relationship, that the hanging out had turned into making out right before they'd decided to date seriously. He also decided that it would be best not to mention that the sex was great and Nick was very creative when he was horny… Or that he knew about the tattoo the Texan had about three and a half inches below his bellybutton. Yes, there were many things that he was going to have to keep to himself.

Carol nodded. She opened her mouth, a funny look on her face, but then closed it, like she'd changed her mind. After a moment's consideration, she mentioned, "You two must be pretty close if he brought you out here for this."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that…" Ok, time to leave. George might have been frightening, but at least he hadn't been prying at his relationship with Nick. Those green eyes were just too piercing; it was like they could peer inside and read his every little secret. They seemed to say that they knew everything.

Greg pushed off the counter and muttered something about getting another beer. The eyes followed him out the door, and then crinkled at the corners with a smile.


	2. Cards

OMG!! I'm SOOOO sorry that this, and other stories, have been neglected for so long! My life became complete chaos for a little while (what with finals, work, side projects, eating, sleeping, and breathing) I've barely had a chance to open the file folder with my stories in it, let alone touch any of them. Now that it's summer, I hope to get a lot done! Please stick with me!

BTW, rating is going up slightly with this one, for some mild sex.

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Dinner was burgers and hotdogs, cooked up by Judge Stokes himself. Coleslaw and potato salad joined the meat and everything went down with a large helping of peach cobbler that Danielle (yet another sister) showed up with. The food was good and the conversation was warm and comfortable. Greg spent most of the meal with his thigh pressed up against Nick's, both for the need to be in contact with his lover and for comfort. The family seemed to have taken a liking to him, but he still wasn't so sure.

The table conversation passed over numerous subjects, ranging from kids, to jobs, to spouses.

Greg learned a good deal of new information about Nick's family during dinner. He found out that the overzealous republican was a Dallas local and lived the closest to his parents. At some point, work had taken him all the way out to Montana, but he'd moved back recently and decided to stay.

Carol was about twenty-five minutes from the head Stokes' house in Arlington, where she lived alone with her son. She had a profitable job with an advertising agency that kept her fairly busy, but she spent every spare moment with Mathew. She was the one who had been married to the dead-beat that Greg was convinced that the family had run off. All in all, he gathered that NO ONE at the table had been fond of the man.

He also learned that the oldest of the Stokes children, Anna, wasn't there yet, but Mary was the second oldest. After that came George, then Lindsey, who had also yet to arrive, then Carol, after that was Danielle, and then Nick. All five of the women had children, but Nick was the only one who hadn't been married at least once.

The kids, who were dining outside, ranged in age from seven, to twenty-two, but were all very close. As often as the family seemed to gather, it really didn't surprise Greg. He'd been fond of his cousins before he'd left California, but still saw them every Christmas. With lives that no longer revolved around school and fooling around, it was a little difficult to get everyone together in the same place.

Once everyone seemed tired of picking at what little food was left, Mrs. Stokes got up and began to clear the table. Not sure of family habits, Greg got up to help, winning a genuine smile of thanks from his host. Perhaps he would gain approval yet… at least from Nick's mom.

"Hey, why don't we play a card game?" Mary suggested warmly, holding up a blue and red deck of cards. The small box had 'Phase 10' printed on it in bright yellow letters.

Nick protested instantly, giving Greg his first impression of the family's favorite game, "No way, Mary! That game takes way too long!"

"You just don't want to play because you always lose," Carol shot him down.

Nick scowled, but Greg could tell from his posture that he wasn't being serious, so he tossed in his vote, "Nick's a sore loser no matter what, so I say let's play."

"Traitor," Greg's boyfriend muttered under his breath, making sure that his lover heard. The gesture made the surfer's grin grow even wider; morphing it into what Nick fondly called 'the smile of a mischievous imp'. Rather than acknowledge Nick's comment, Greg finished clearing off the table and poured up a cup of coffee for both of them.

After-dinner drinks and snacks were set up in the middle of the playing space and ten cards were dealt out to each combatant. The draw pile was a little thin due to the number of players, but no one saw it as a problem.

Interpreting instructions from seven different mouths, Greg pieced together the basics of the game. The game was played in rounds and in each round a different 'phase' (as it was called) had to be completed. There were ten phases total and if the player didn't complete the phase they were on before the round was over, they had to repeat it. The rest of it was a little sketchy to him, but Nick was there to whisper hints over his shoulder (even if he HAD abandoned him earlier in the day).

A good part of the game was dumb luck. As the rounds progressed, Greg caught on and was able to run in the middle of the pack while Nick floundered behind it. In the third hand, it occurred to Greg that Warrick would be damn good at this game. The green-eyed CSI had an amazing knack to keep track of numbers. He might have to bring a deck home to Vegas and set up a CSI game night… which would quickly deteriorate into a beer, nachos, and TV night, like every other social event had done.

There was no way to explain it. The night-shift was just laid back by nature and were content to just hang out and do nothing.

Greg displayed his complete hand on the table and grinned at Nick, who was still stuck on the first phase. "I guess I understand why you'd be a little sore concerning this game… you kind of suck at it," Greg poked at him playfully.

He was risking be taken over Nick's knee in a few minutes, or maybe he was tempting the frustrated Texan into doling out punishment. Either way, he got a laugh from the rest of the family and a half-hearted glare from the man at his right.

For icing on the proverbial cake, Greg tossed his last card into the discard pile, ending the round and stranding Nick for another turn.

At the other side of the table, Carol gave her older sister a knowing look when their little brother pulled his offending guest in a headlock and mussed his blonde-tipped hair. Mary watched the two men interact and then break apart with smiles. Their visitor rose to his feet and picked up Nick's empty coffee mug, disappearing into the kitchen for refills.

Danielle offhandedly mentioned getting more cobbler and followed after him. Mary was the next to leave the table while George dealt the next hand, and Carol was close behind.

In Mrs. Stokes's beautiful chrome and marble kitchen, Greg was humming softly to himself and mixing a teaspoon of sugar into Nick's coffee. It was the way the level three CSI had his coffee every day before work, with a little sugar and no milk. The punk-rocker preferred his straight black, with nothing to interfere with the drink's natural flavor.

He licked the spoon clean and dropped it in the sink, completely unaware that he had an audience. It wasn't until Carol cleared her throat that he noticed the company. If he'd been holding the mugs to return to the dining room, he would have dropped both of them in his startled leap.

"You even know how takes his coffee, that's very observant," Mary commented smoothly.

Greg turned to find the three sisters fanned across the main escape root from the kitchen. That was it! The pack had decided to take him out and they'd sent the females to do the hunting. The femme-fatales would eat him alive and spit out his bones for screwing one of their younger siblings.

The punk-rocker swallowed hard and tried to still his racing heart. There was no way that they would do him harm… would they?

"There is a break room at the Crime Lab, with a coffee machine and everything. I've seen him make his cup of Joe more than once," Greg defended as calmly as he could with a stress level that was sky high.

Danielle (the sister that Greg had pegged as pretty docile) chuckled and shook her head, saying in return, "You can drop the act; we know you two are seeing each other. Who do you think Nick confided in before he told our parents?"

"His sisters," Mary chimed in (just in case Greg couldn't figure it out for himself).

"Carol always thought that it was because we dressed him up like a girl when he was four, but it doesn't really matter. We just want the details… you know, how you two got together and how the relationship's going," the first sister continued.

Not entirely sure what he was hearing, Greg leaned against the counter and mentioned the first thing that came into his mind, "You know, there's strong evidence that it's genetic. Being gay, I mean."

"So I've heard," Mary said, with a tiny touch of sarcasm, but more amusement than anything else. "I can see why he'd like you."

Back in the dining room, Nick glanced up from rearranging his hand. It took him a second to realize that, not only was his boyfriend gone, but so were all three of his sisters. It would be different if the other two siblings had arrived, because they controlled the Three Musketeers quite well. But without Anna to scold them into submission and Lindsey to give them guilt, there was no telling what those three were up to. For all he knew, they were doing something terrible to Greg and he hadn't been paying enough attention to stop them.

Guessing that it was time for him to play 'knight in shining armor', Nick hopped up and went to find his wayward boyfriend. The Texan found very quickly that, not only had his sisters cornered Greg, they were grilling him with questions. The poor surfer looked positively bewildered. His sisters were just going to make him into a second victim, but he charged in anyway. Well, he walked in and barged his way into the center of the group.

"Alright, ladies, that's quite enough. He doesn't need you three to make him feel like he's been captured by the Inquisition," Nick said to get the situation under control.

Right on cue, the trio turned the questions to him. Carol started it, "And when were you going to tell us about this development?"

"He's too adorable to keep all to yourself!" Danielle added cheerfully.

Greg took refuge behind his boyfriend and let him handle his decidedly frightening siblings. He knew a group of women could be terrifying, but Nick's sisters took things to a whole new level.

With the ease of long practice, Nick settled as many questions as he could in one sweep, "I was going to tell you this weekend. We've been dating for over a year and a half. He's living with me. We really did meet through work. Things are great and no, you may not inquire about our sex life."

The women squealed in a highly child-like way, seemingly appeased with his answers. One of the three reached out to pinch Nick's cheek before they herded back into the dining room. The Texan shot a glance back at his companion and gave him a warm smile.

"That's how it's done."

Greg chuckled, finally regaining his scattered senses, and returned the dazzling grin. "Well, I didn't grow up with sisters, so I guess I don't know the best way to get around them when they corner you," he joked lightly and pinched Nick's side. "You could have come to the rescue a little sooner."

The youngest member of the Stokes family led his boyfriend back into the dining room to finish their game of cards. In the end, Nick was in dead last and Greg landed a satisfying third place. Carol was the one to walk away with the victory, claiming happily that no one could ever defeat her at Phase 10.

The family split into singles and small groups as they started to get settled for the night. Most of Nick's siblings just stayed in their respective rooms, with young offspring in tow, while the plethora of older kids sprawled across the floor, couches, and various soft objects. When the night had finally wound down to a crawl, Greg dragged Nick upstairs and closed them in behind a firmly locked door.

The level three CSI sank onto his old bed while his lover stripped out of the collared shirt he'd been fooling with all day. Greg had never been particularly fond of polo shirts. "So… you going to give me a first impression?" Nick asked with a smirk tugging at the edge of his mouth.

Greg turned a mockery of the evil eye on his boyfriend, tossing back, "Do you really want to know?"

His only answer was a small nod.

"The prospect of your father not knowing about us terrifies me, your brother George is overwhelming, your sisters are like a pack of predators, and your mother is either wholly clueless or she doesn't want to think about me as your fuck buddy."

Nick raised an eyebrow.

"But, they're all very nice and I promise you my family far surpasses yours in weirdness," Greg added.

He could only think back to his family get-togethers with fondness, despite his mother yelling at every child for stepping in the kitchen, his grandfather telling absurd stories that had no relevance, his cousins chasing around the family dog, and his grandmother reading fortunes off the coffee table for anyone who cared to listen. Every family had its quarks and they really only made sense to the people that belonged in them.

"I guess that pretty much sums things up," Nick admitted.

They both chuckled and Nick started to get ready for bed. He'd barely gotten out of his shirt and jeans when Greg straddled his hips.

"Now, I've got way too much pent up energy from being a good boy all day. What do you say we take care of that before you try to get me to go to sleep," the surfer all but purred in Nick's ear.

The comment got an immediate reaction from his body, but Nick knew exactly how thin the walls of his parents' home were. Sound traveled through those walls faster than water passed through a sieve.

"Greg, we're in a house full of my family and you are not a quiet lover."

"I can be quiet."

"I don't know, there was the time that you made the dogs start barking across the street."

"Shut up you smart ass," Greg griped. "Besides, are you just going to let your right hand take care of your problems downstairs?"

Nick rolled his eyes at the crude comment, but had to stifle a moan when Greg slid his highly skilled fingers under the elastic of his boxer shorts.

"It would be easier that way," he tried to state around his firmly bitten tongue.

The punk-rocker leaned down to taste the corner of Nick's mouth, bringing up a good point, "Yeah, but think of the high school thrill of trying to have sex while your parents are at home."

"Wouldn't know, never tried it."

"Well then, it's about damn time you did," Greg teased and shoved his lover back onto the bed. He was NOT going to take no for an answer.

Nick pulled Greg down with him, claiming his mouth in a kiss that was more tongues and passion than anything else. Greg's nimble hands worked his boyfriend's boxer shorts off, as well as his own jeans and underwear, before Nick had released him from the kiss. They pulled away slowly, the Texan carding through Greg's extreme hair.

The surfer grinned maniacally, creating a worried crease in Nick's brow, and he voiced his concern, "What are you thinking? I know what a look like that means, it means there's too much going on beneath that mop of yours."

"Well, I really wasn't joking… I was thinking, if I promise to be quiet, we could really… you know…," Greg suggested with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a gentle brush to Nick's crotch.

The older man groaned again, whispering, "That REALLY isn't a good idea! You know we won't be able to be quiet enough… AH!" His words turned into a yelp as Greg squeezed him firmly.

"I see what you mean," Greg murmured slyly, adding, "but I don't think you're trying hard enough."

Nick edged to the side of the bed as easily as he could with his boyfriend sitting on his hips and rummaged around in their bag on the floor. He tossed lube on the bed and smirked, warning in a low tone, "If you scream too loud, my father's going to find out about us a lot sooner than I was planning."

Greg nodded breathlessly, stifling a moan as Nick ran his hand up his slim body. "I'll try not to."

Within minutes, they were sliding against each other in the throws of passion, holding back their cries with hands, pillows, kisses, and anything else they could think of. It was a mad, but thrilling, attempt to laugh in the face of conformity and authority.

Nick knew his father could never truly approve, as both a good Catholic man and a strong stander on the right side of politics. To be a homosexual was to damn Nick in his father's eyes. He could only hope that he could see around it somehow and be happy for him… for him and for Greg.

The judge had plenty of time to think on Nick's preferences, since it had been nearly two years since he'd told him about it. Aside from the family reunion, Nick hadn't seen his father after his confession. He'd talked to him twice on the phone, once at Father's Day and once the next Christmas, but the conversations had been clipped and brief. He'd been surprised to see him act so warmly to him when he arrived, but his mother's presence probably helped quite a bit.

Nick slid Greg's legs off his shoulders and rolled so his smaller lover was above him. The exuberant young man adjusted to the new position easily, his head falling back on his shoulders as he bit his lip to hold back a yell. Despite the thrill of having sex with his lover on the sly, Nick wished they were at home so he could make Greg beg and scream until his throat was raw and he was panting with exhaustion. The boy was made to be loud and Nick hated to make him be anything but. Most people found him to be slightly obnoxious while the Texan found him to be extremely refreshing, if not mildly over the top.

There was no way Nick was going to give this up. He would never be able to survive without Greg… without the flesh of another man sliding against his own. The Texan didn't want to jump the gun about his relationship with Greg, but he was confident that their steady connection would stay strong for many, many years to come, if not more. The opinion of his father was extremely important, but if he couldn't get approval, then they were going to start butting heads at every family gathering.

Greg leaned over to brush his lips against the Texan's ear, whimpering softly, "Love… love you…"

No, he didn't need anything else, as long as he had this.

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TBC

I hope you enjoyed it.


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